Sesame Soba Noodles, Korean BBQ Pork, and Cucumber Salad

This is more of a meal suggestion than a recipe, since each part is pretty simple. But together they make a great meal, and not a difficult one at that. These are the sort of recipes that you just have to put as much of each ingredient in as you think tastes good, so I left out the quantities--you'll have to figure out for yourself :)


Korean BBQ Pork

Marinade from my Korean Pulled Pork recipe
Thinly sliced pork tenderloin

Coat the pork in the marinade and let it marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to a day, in the refrigerator. Heat a charcoal or gas grill. Grill the meat, turning once, until it is cooked through.


Sesame Soba Noodles

soba noodles
toasted sesame seeds
chili oil (or omit the chili oil and sesame seeds, and use some Japanese 7-Spice or Togarashi)
sesame oil
thinly sliced green onions
salt or soy sauce

Cook the soba according to package directions. Rinse them with cold water, and then toss with the rest of the ingredients. You can taste and adjust the seasonings as you want. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold--whatever you are in the mood for!


Cucumber and Radish Salad

English cucumber
a few radishes
rice wine vinegar
salt

Thinly slice the cucumbers and radishes, and dress with the vinegar and salt before serving.

Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari, Snap Peas, Lime, Serranos, and Mint

To celebrate my getting a job, Mitch and I ate at Liluma. Even though it's really close to our apartment, we hadn't been before. Partly that had to do with prices, but also with the fact that everyone in the restaurant looked over 70--but when we did go we sat on the patio, so it didn't seem so crusty. I forgot my camera, so no review of that one, but I will tell you that, though it was no Niche, Liluma was delicious. But what I'm getting at is that Liluma had a chilled calamari, lime, and chili salad on the menu. I thought that looked great, and I spent half the next day thinking about how I could turn that into a whole meal.

What I came up with was this--a seemingly odd but quite delicious fusion of Southeast Asian flavors and Italian cooking. It's great for a hot day and would make a good lunch for company. Also it takes a very short time to prepare, making it a perfect week-night meal.

If you can't find squid ink pasta, don't worry--any pasta will taste great even if it won't look as striking.

Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari, Snap Peas, Lime, Serranos, and Mint

Serves 2-4, depending on appetites (usually closer to 4)

1 pound squid ink pasta

2 cups snap peas, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound calamari, sliced into rings

1/2 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional, but adds a delicious saltiness and fullness of flavor)

2 serrano peppers, finely chopped

1 small bunch of mint, leavers thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the snap peas in a strainer, and lower the strainer into the boiling water for 1 minutes. Lift it out of the water and rinse the snap peas with cold water.

Cook the pasta in the pot of boiling water, following package instructions for timing.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the calamari and cook for a minute or so, until it is fully cooked. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, and serranos. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the snap peas. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the calamari and peas and place them in a separate bowl. By this time the pasta will be done. Strain the pasta in a colander, then toss it in the sauce. Toss the mint with the pasta, and then serve the pasta with the calamari and peas on top. 

Skip the cheese on this one--if you must have something like that use bread crumbs toasted in olive oil.

Sorrel Fettuccine with English Peas, Hazelnuts, and Brown Butter

I love green pastas, so I decided to experiment with using sorrel instead of the more traditional spinach. It gives the pasta a subtle lemony flavor that I enhanced with a little more lemon zest.

This dish is a variation on a pretty traditional pasta dish with brown butter, peas, sage, and prosciutto. I used hazelnuts because they emphasize the nutty flavor of the brown butter, and added chives because of how well they complement sorrel.

Try adding morels to the mix. I didn't have any, but I wish I had--I think they would have rounded out the flavors and textures nicely.

Sorrel Fettuccine with English Peas, Hazelnuts, and Brown Butter

1 bunch sorrel
9 ounces flour (about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water

2 cups English peas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 stick butter
1/3 cup hazelnuts, crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 tablespoons sage, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chives, coarsely chopped
freshly ground pepper
salt

For the pasta: In a food processor, blend the sorrel, salt, lemon zest, and the flour until the sorrel is finely ground and the flour is green. Add the eggs and olive oil, then process for about 10 seconds or until it begins to look like coarse cornmeal (except green, of course). Add the water, and continue to process until the dough bounces into a ball. Add a little more water if the dough is too dry. Take the dough out and put it on a layer of plastic wrap. Wrap it up and let it rest for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into thirds, and roll it out in a pasta maker to the second- or third-thinnest level. Before the last round through the pasta maker, dust each sheet with rice flour and cut it in half if it is too long. Cut each sheet into fettuccine, then hang them to dry out a little.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While it's heating, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Keep cooking the butter until the foam subsides and it reaches a golden-brown hue. Remove the pan from the heat and add the more finely ground hazelnuts and the sage. It will sizzle a bit and then calm down. Set this aside.

Place the peas in a strainer. When the pot of water is boiling, dip the strainer into the water so that the peas cook for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Lift the peas out and drain.

Carefully drop the pasta into the water. Cook for about 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pasta, and then drain in a colander. Leaving some moisture on the pasta, transfer it to the pot of butter. Add the lemon juice and gently toss everything together to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, topping each dish of pasta with plenty and peas, some of the remaining hazelnuts, and a sprinkling of chives.

Pecorino and Pear Ravioli with Black Pepper and Basil

I just spent a fabulous weekend in Columbia with the lovely Amanda Perry. Between games of Cranium, we did some fabulous cooking (see her post on stuffed zucchini blossoms if you need proof). This recipe is a variant on one Amanda made on Saturday, which was inspired by a meal she had at Felidia in New York City.

The pasta dish with pecorino Romano which I am most familiar with, after many semi-successful and a few actually successful attempts, is spaghetti cacio e pepe, a Roman staple consisting of pasta with a very simple--yet incredibly delicious--combination of freshly ground black pepper, pecorino Romano, olive oil, and some of the pasta's cooking water. I thought that because I was using pecorino in the recipe already, I would try using this sauce on the ravioli. I decided to add basil because I was reminded of a delicious salad of pears, pecorino, and basil I made once last fall from Olives and Oranges, another favorite cookbook. Thinly sliced basil perfectly complements the sweetness of the pears and the saltiness of the cheese.

The filling is pretty simple--pecorino fresco, grated pears, and mascarpone (to hold everything together). If you can't find pecorino fresco, a combination of any soft sheep cheese and a typical aged pecorino will work just fine. Use the best quality ripe pears you can find. However, you don't want them to be too ripe or the filling will be too liquidy.

I'm not going to include a recipe for pasta dough here (unless anyone particularly wants it) because I'm guessing anyone who already has a pasta machine already has a favorite pasta dough recipe. But if you want my input, Jerry Traunfeld's recipe in The Herbfarm Cookbook is one of the best and most reliable.

Pecorino and Pear Ravioli with Black Pepper and Basil

2 ripe pears, cored and grated on a large grater
1 1/2 cups grated pecorino fresco
1/3 cup mascarpone
Pasta dough made from 3 cups of flour
flour for dusting
egg wash, made from 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
salted water for cooking the pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino Romano
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

For the filling: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the first three ingredients.

For the pasta: Divide the dough into 4 balls, covering the unused pieces with plastic wrap. Roll out the first ball to the second thinnest level on your pasta machine, thoroughly dusting both sides with flour. Try to keep the dough sheet as wide as will fit through the pasta maker. (If you don't fold the ravioli right away, keep the sheets well floured and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over each sheet, then roll it up so that each surface is covered in plastic.) Fill each sheet as soon as you roll it, then continue with the next sheets.

Stuffing the ravioli: Lay the sheet out flat on a work surface, and slice it in half lengthwise. Spoon heaping teaspoons of filling in balls on the bottom dough strip, leaving at least 1 inch between each dab of filling, and making sure to leave space at the top and bottom of the strip. Brush the egg wash along the outside edges of the strip and between each dab of filling (this helps the dough stick together). Take the top strip of dough and lay it on top of the strip with the filling. Trying to avoid air bubbles, press down firmly to seal the dough around the filling. When all edges are sealed, cut the ravioli apart in the middle, lightly flour them, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all the pasta sheets.

Cooking the ravioli: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat so that the water is only simmering, then slip in six or seven ravioli one by one. Adjust the heat so the water remains just below a boil. Cook the ravioli for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes--just until the dough is cooked and the filling is hot. Transfer them using a slotted spoon to a plate lines with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.

Making the sauce: In a large skillet, gently heat the olive oil. Add the salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water and continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy. Toss the ravioli in this sauce.

Serving: Serve the sauced ravioli immediately with a few pieces of basil!

Ravioli with Asparagus Sauce, Prosciutto, and Sage

[Hey everyone, help me out to answer this curiosity of mine: This post has many times as many hits on my blog as any other single post. Is there a reason for this? Did all of you find this post from one place? Please leave your answer in a comment!]

The original idea for this dish came from a conversation with my dad. He said he had had a fabulous meal at the local pizza/pasta Italian place. I was surprised, because although that restaurant always has good food, what makes it great is the comfort of it and the wine list, rarely the food. But he described this dish of pasta with a pureed asparagus sauce, and I thought that sounded pretty good too. So I got some asparagus and started experimenting. I like to make my own ricotta ravioli, but this recipe is mostly about the sauce, so I'll leave it to you to buy or make your ravioli as you choose. Just don't go for anything too meaty--chicken, seafood, or cheese is the way to go. If want to make it vegetarian, leave out the prosciutto and it will still be delicious.

Ravioli with Asparagus Sauce, Prosciutto, and Sage

4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 pound thin asparagus
3 tablespoons sage, coarsley chopped (divided)
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 ounces prosciutto, sliced into 2 inch strips
1 package store bought or 1 batch homemade ravioli

Remove the tough base of the asparagus and discard. This can be best done by breaking the base off as low as it will naturally break.

Cut the flowering ends off the asparagus, and set aside for later.

Begin heating a pot of salted water for the ravioli.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus stems and 1 tablespoon of sage, and saute until they are fully cooked but not mushy. (If you hold an asparagus up with a fork at one end, the other end should droop some.)

Transfer the asparagus stems from the pan to a food processor. Add the lemon juice and cream. Blend until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more lemon juice if you like a tarter sauce. Keep the blender cover on to keep the sauce hot while you finish cooking.

Reheat the skillet with the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the asparagus tops, the sage, and the prosciutto. Saute until the asparagus is cooked how you like it.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in the boiling water. Before straining, reserve 1/2 cup of the boiling water. Add as much of this as is needed to the asparagus sauce to thin it to your desired consistency.

Serve the ravioli immediately with a generous amount of sauce and topped with the asparagus and prosciutto mixture.

Shells with Many Cheeses

Sometimes good old macaroni and cheese just hits the spot. Now I seem to have mostly grown out of liking the stuff with orange powder, and I have never particularly liked the baked version. Somehow it seems the pasta is always overcooked, and there is always too much sauce for my liking. (As Maria Batali says, though most assuredly not referring to macaroni and cheese, pasta should not swim in sauce, rather it should be dressed the way a salad is dressed--sparingly. In my opinion, same goes for mac 'n cheese.) So when I get that craving, I pull out all the remnants of cheese in my fridge and begin to think it through. It's great to have some strong cheese mixed in--any blue, goat, or feta works well. Parmagiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or Pecorino add a good depth of flavor as well. And cheddar, or course, is always good. This time I had aged Gouda, Roquefert, pepper jack, and a tad of cheddar. But really this is not a dish for which you make a grocery list, this is a dish for which you pull out any bits of cheese hiding in your fridge. Grate up all the cheese, whip up a bechamel sauce with some thyme, melt the cheese in it, and toss the cooked shells with the sauce. It's that simple (I promise, bechamel actually is simple).


Mini Shells with Many Cheeses
1/2 pound mini shells
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
about 1 cup grated cheeses (vary this quantity depending on what cheese you have, how cheesy you want it, etc.)
freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste

Heat a pot of boiling water for the pasta, and cook according to package directions.

While the water is heating and the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is melted and hot, whisk in the flour. Cook the flour for 30 seconds, before pouring in the cold milk all at once. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Toss in the cheese and stir to melt. Season as needed with salt and pepper. Keep hot until the pasta is done, and then toss the pasta with the cheese sauce and serve.